'Extremely Concerning': Prince William's Canceling of an Event Was for an 'Issue Close to Home'

Prince William was due to deliver a reading at his late godfather King Constantine's funeral on Tuesday, February 27, but the heir to the British throne hastily canceled at the last minute. The Prince of Wales cited "personal reasons" for dipping out, and speculation has been rife with theories as to why ever since.

Royal author Grant Harrold told an outlet that royal duty "comes before everything" for senior British royals, which means it must have been a serious matter to bring about a swift cancelation. "The fact he’s pulled out shows something is not right,” he said. "The first thing people will think is if it has something to do with his father, the King. I think it’s probably something closer to home."

Harrold continued: "It's possibly something to do with Catherine, the Princess of Wales, because obviously she had that surgery a few weeks back, and a lot of people have said to me, they’ve been very quiet since she’s had it done.”

"Of course, it could be as simple as one of the children maybe going down with a cold or flu or something," Harrold observed. "But I think it’s something possibly more to do with the actual Princess and I just hope there isn’t anything too serious."

The Princess of Wales continues to recover at home from a "serious" procedure on January 16. She is still due to return to public duties "after Easter."

"This is going to fuel all sorts of lurid speculation," GB News' Andrew Pierce said on-air as the news of William's cancelation broke. "The Princess of Wales is sick, the King has got cancer, has he got health issues? Is it the children? I hope he’s alright, I hope everything is OK."

Pierce's co-host, Tom Harwood, replied: "I think if he’d pulled out a week or so in advance, with something unavoidable, that would be a different kettle of fish. It’s very last minute, and usually perhaps for this royal family, which has been more open about a lot of the issues it’s facing. In previous decades, the royal family has been a lot more closed, but we’re not getting any information about this."

While details regarding William's absence remain disclosed, a source confirmed to a news publication: "The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well."

Charles' absence from the service for his second cousin at St George's Chapel in Windsor comes in the midst of his ongoing cancer battle. The specific kind of cancer the king was diagnosed with has not been revealed to the public. Queen Camilla went in the monarch's place and arrived at the event last in accordance with royal protocol.

GBN interviewed Harrold.